Professor Raymond Tanter, former Senior Member of the National Security Council, addresses President Obama’s visit to Israel, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the potential for regime in Tehran from within on France24 in Paris – March 20, 2013.

“Man up” on Iran? The phrase appears to suggest preparations for military action. But being tough on Iran means acting to facilitate regime change from within. Tehran pays more attention to domestic threats than international pressures, including sanctions or threats of military action.

There is broad consensus that the Iranian regime is a threat to Israel and the United States. Economic sanctions and threats of military action against Iran’s nuclear program are assumed to be the only tools with which to confront Tehran. But one of the lessons of the Arab revolts against dictatorial regimes is the need to pay attention to opposition groups before radical Islamists seize control during periods of domestic unrest. This lesson was also manifest in the 1979 Iranian Revolution when a secular coalition, including the Mojahedin (now more commonly referred to as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK), was able to oust the Shah but lacked a plan to stave off Islamists who now run the Islamic Republic of Iran.